Russian twins Natalia and Nina came to Cyprus twelve years ago to earn some money before returning home. However, they have stayed, creating lives and a successful business)
FOR THE last 12 years, Natalia and Nina Koulaxidou have been a long way from their home in Russia. Nina, still only 29, has had the added heartbreak of losing a husband. It is only due to the fact that they are identical twins and very, very close that the sisters have been able to cope.
The twins have lived in Paphos for 12 years. Natalia moved to Cyprus with the intention of working here for a year to earn some money before returning home to Russia.
“I worked in many jobs for the first two years. In a café, shoe shop and hotels. Then I worked for six years in Fratello hair salon in Kato Paphos, before setting up my own salons. I have two, one here in Paphos and the other in Limassol. I learnt how to be a hairdresser in Russia 14 years ago,” Natalia said.
Natalia speaks better English than her sister, and they both use Russian and Greek in their everyday conversations. They also know a little Turkish.
Nina was married in Cyprus to a Russian man called Alexander Smirnov.
“I liked him very much,” Natalia said. “When they were engaged, Nina became pregnant, and they got married. It was a lovely day.”
The day after the wedding Alexander died from a heart attack. He was only 26.
“It was awful for Nina, for all of us. But she had me, it made us even closer; we are best friends. And now she has her daughter, Maria, who is sweet, kind and funny, just like her father.”
Natalia sadly pulled out Nina’s wedding photographs from a drawer showing a happy young man and his new bride.
“It’s hard to believe Nina is three months pregnant in this photo, she’s so skinny,” she smiled. “I am a size bigger than her. I am medium and she is small.”
Natalia said she would like to get married and have her own family one day, but it would have to be someone very special. “He has to be good looking, a good man with a strong personality like me, and someone who has money to take care of me. I always take care of everyone, now it’s my turn,” Natalia laughed. “Of course Nina would have to like him too.”
Natalia admitted that she was the boss of the two, though she insists Nina can be bossy too.
The pair would not contemplate dressing in different colours. “Our Mother dressed us in identical outfits from when we were babies, and we still dress like that now,” Natalia said.
“There is no way I would let Nina wear a different coloured top. She wouldn’t want to anyway. It would be like my sister going left and me going right. I want us to go the same way.”
The sisters live with their mother and Nina’s daughter, Maria. “She loves us all being together, she says it’s like having three mummies,” Natalia said. The sisters also have a 23-year-old brother who lives in Paphos, as do other numerous relations.
The twins are identical and astonishingly alike. Their mannerisms are similar, although their personalities are not.
“We go shopping for clothes and shoes together; we even ensure our make up is exactly the same. But Nina is for the home, and I am for work. I like to go around and see my friends; I go to my salon in Limassol every Tuesday, and it’s nice to be apart from her sometimes. My sister is quieter than me; she is also strong, but in a different way. We are separate but together.”
The sisters both like Cyprus, the weather, the job and the customers. “But we both want to go back to Russia in a few years. It is our home, my mother would come too.”
Natalia is a qualified hairdresser and is responsible for all the cuts and colours, whereas Nina likes to blow-dry, and looks after the beauty side of the business.
“I am the boss here. Nina helps me. She does manicures, pedicures and other treatments. She was the one who encouraged me to become a hairdresser. But she is scared to cut and colour, she leaves that to me.”
The twins often speak at the same time and finish each other’s sentences.
The sisters are both Greek Orthodox and like to attend Church when they can.
“We know about the first Pontian Priest being ordained, we think this is a good thing,” Natalia said.
Father George Halantzidies was recently ordained in Paphos and is the first Pontian priest on the island.
“I like to travel and go places. I have visited many countries. My sister is going on holiday to Georgia for two weeks soon, and I will look after Maria. It will be nice for me to spend time with my niece, but I prefer it when Nina is close by.”
And have they ever tricked people with their shared looks. “We sometimes have fun with people who don’t know we are twins. We were at a wedding recently, and the bride couldn’t understand how we were in different parts of the room so quickly. It was really fun. She couldn’t believe it when she saw us together.”
’It’s very nice being a twin. I feel special. We like the same things. Natalia is my best friend,’ Nina said.
